Beverley, Woodville West & Woodville South

The EPA has been assessing groundwater and soil vapour in Beverley for historically used chemicals including trichloroethene (TCE), since 2015.

At the end of October 2017, the EPA received results from the latest round of assessment work in the broader Beverley area.

The results are generally consistent with or lower than the previous risk assessment. This is considered to be as a result of seasonal moisture in the soil. The computer modelling predicts 16 additional properties in the ‘investigation’ range of the Indoor air level response range (TCE) under ‘Fact sheets’ below, and 34 additional properties in the ‘validation’ range in the vicinity of new soil vapour bores.

All other properties in the investigation and intervention ranges have been previously identified and where permission was granted have had site specific testing and / or mitigation work undertaken.

As previously advised, please do not use groundwater (bore water) for any purpose. Mains water and water from rainwater tanks are not affected. Fruit and vegetables are not affected by this issue and are safe to consume provided they are not watered with contaminated groundwater.

Further information

If you have any queries or concerns, or would like to join our Community Working Group, please do not hesitate to contact us on 1800 729 175 or email the Site Contamination team.

Beverley Community Working Group (CWG)

The EPA has established the Beverley Community Working Group (CWG) as one of its key stakeholder engagement initiatives, to provide strategic interaction and information sharing with the community throughout the assessment program.

The CWG was formed in June 2015 and comprises a number of community members who are actively representing local communities and other key stakeholders. The focus and content of meetings are regularly refined to suit the assessment stages and to enable members to become a link for accurate information between the EPA and their local communities.

Background

In late September 2015, the EPA received results that varying concentrations of trichloroethene (TCE) had been detected in some of the groundwater and soil vapour samples collected from within the assessment area.

Two packages of assessment work were commissioned by the EPA. Work in the area close to a source in Pope Street, is being undertaken to determine if there is a risk to human health from vapour intrusion into specific homes. These site specific works are being undertaken by environmental consultant Golder Associates. The validation work is complex and involves testing for vapour in yards, beneath homes and within the air inside homes at a number of residential properties in the assessment area. The testing locations for this work were determined from the October 2015 results. A link to the full report is above, together with a letter to residents and map explaining the results.

A second assessment program focussing on the broader Beverley area was undertaken concurrently to the site specific works, to determine the extent of the contaminated groundwater plume and possible sources of TCE. The majority of the broader area work was completed on public land and involved resampling all existing groundwater and soil vapour bores. New groundwater wells and soil vapour bores were also installed across a slightly expanded assessment area to better understand the extent of the contamination. Environmental consultant JBS&G finalised this report in May 2016 and a link to the report is under ‘Reports’ above.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Beverley environmental assessment program?

The program involves a combination of soil, groundwater and soil vapour testing to give the EPA a better understanding of the nature and extent of trichloroethene (TCE) contamination in this area and evaluate any potential risk to human health.

A further, long-term aim of the assessment program is to identify the source of the existing environmental issue in the soil or in groundwater and where the sources are located.

What is TCE (Trichloroethene)?

Trichloroethene, or TCE, is a colourless liquid chemical that is widely used in industrial activities and historically in the Beverley area particularly for metal cleaning and degreasing.

Other historical uses include removing caffeine from coffee beans in the production of decaffeinated coffee, for dry cleaning and as an anaesthetic for surgery.

Where is the Beverley and surrounding suburbs assessment area?

The Beverley assessment area is on the southern side of Port Road bordered by Willis Street, Courtoy Street, Fife Street, Braithwaite Street, Bourne Place and Gemmell Street (refer to maps).

What is the process for the environmental assessment works?

What has been the timeline for environmental testing in the Beverley industrial area?

In 2006, the EPA was advised of site contamination of TCE in groundwater at a former industrial site in Beverley.

In 2007-08, the EPA and SA Health tested groundwater to determine the nature and extent of groundwater contamination in the surrounding area. Residents, landowners and businesses were contacted during this time.

In June 2008, the EPA, in consultation with SA Health, letterbox-dropped approximately 3,000 properties including residents and businesses, advising them that bore water should not be used for any purpose in the assessment area.

This advice remains in place. Mains water supplied by SA Water and water from rain water tanks is not affected and is safe.

Following a review in August 2014 of this assessment area – which was identified as a potential groundwater prohibition area – the EPA and SA Health agreed that further testing was warranted. This further testing involved groundwater and soil vapour.

Residents, landowners and business operators on approximately 3,000 properties were again advised, on 8 October 2014, not to use bore water for any purpose and that further testing would be undertaken over the coming months.

In March 2015, the EPA outlined a testing schedule to commence in April 2015 and selected a specialist environmental consultant to conduct the required works, primarily on public land such as road reserves and footpaths, which included soil vapour and groundwater testing.

In May 2015, environmental testing confirmed the presence of Trichloroethene (TCE) in groundwater and soil vapour at a number of locations within the assessment area. Although groundwater contamination was at lower levels than previous tests had shown, some of the soil vapour data was higher than expected.

In June 2015, the EPA conducted further, targeted soil vapour testing in a reduced area of interest to better define the nature and extent of soil vapour contamination.

Following receipt of the data from the June testing, the EPA was able to further reduce its area of interest and in July 2015, announced another round of soil vapour testing in two smaller, defined areas. This testing will involve the installation of a series of permanent soil vapour bores at varying depths on public and commercial land along with the re-sampling of some existing locations to validate previous results.

Why are these works being undertaken?

In 2008 the EPA advised residents and businesses that bore water (groundwater) should not be used. This was based on previous assessment programs in the area which identified contamination in the groundwater.

As part of plans to formalise this advice through the implementation of a Groundwater Prohibition Area, the EPA initiated further assessment works to better understand the nature and extent of the contamination and inform local residents and businesses of the next steps in this process.

Why are you doing more work?

Based on the initial raw data, although the groundwater contamination was at lower levels than what previous testing had shown, the soil vapour data returned readings that were higher than expected.

In order to define the nature and extent of soil vapour contamination in the area, more targeted soil vapour testing is being undertaken. This will help provide a more accurate understanding of the environmental conditions in the area to better understand whether there is any potential impact to residential properties.

Will these results be made available?

All residents in the Beverley assessment area will be advised of the results once they become available. Communication of these results may include personal visits with residents, letters and fact sheets.

All results will be made available to the broader public on the EPA website and EPA Public Register.

Can I drink water and grow fruit and vegetables?

SA Health has advised that home grown fruit and vegetables are safe, provided they are not watered using contaminated groundwater.

Mains water provided by SA Water and water from rainwater tanks is not affected and is safe to use as normal.

The EPA continues to advise residents not to use groundwater for any purpose until further notice.

How will you be engaging with the community?

The EPA has established the Beverley Community Working Group (CWG) as one of its key stakeholder engagement initiatives, to provide strategic interaction and information sharing with the community throughout the assessment program.

The CWG was formed in June 2015 and comprises a number of community members who are actively representing local communities and other key stakeholders.

The focus and content of meetings are regularly refined to suit the assessment stages and to enable members to become a link for accurate information between the EPA and their local communities.

All residents are welcome to join this Community Working Group – please email or phone 1800 729 175 if you would like to attend.

Where can I find more information?

All information involving the environmental assessment program in Beverley and the surrounding area including tests results will be communicated directly by a combination of:

Letters to local residents

Door knocking residents within the assessment area and making personal contact with representatives from the EPA